Community‐based early intervention for children with behavioural,emotional and social problems: evaluation of the Scallywags Scheme

Scallywags is a community‐based, early intervention programme for young children (aged 3–7) with behavioural, emotional and social problems, which integrates work in the home and school with a parenting curriculum and direct work with children. A pre‐post intervention study across multi‐sites of 340 participants is reported. Using standardised measures, the study found statistically significant reductions in problems at home and school experienced by children who completed the programme, and in parental stress levels. Participation was found to be high and the project acceptable to parents, many of whom would be described as hard to reach. The rigorous evaluation of this real‐life service and its positive outcomes highlight the potential of such programmes to tackle the needs of these children and families, and help prevent longer‐term problems associated with early onset behavioural problems, including social exclusion, antisocial behaviour and educational failure.     

A culture of knowledge production: testing and observation of Dutch children with learning and behavioural problems (1949–1985)

Abstract

This article focuses on the role the Dutch school for children with “learning and behavioural problems” (LOM) has played in knowledge production about learning disabilities and in the development of academic study of special education between 1949 and 1985. LOM-schooling grew rapidly during these years and attracted relatively many experts. In the selection and admission of LOM-children they had to be distinguished from normal, mentally deficient, and “very difficult” children. Around 1970 experts shifted their focus from the distinction between LOM-children and the latter to the difference between LOM- and mildly mentally retarded children, which turned out to be too small in the end to justify a separate school. The LOM-school’s culture of knowledge production has stimulated both testing and the study of learning problems and their treatment. It functioned as a laboratory for the development of therapeutic treatment for learning disabilities. In particular, the systematic reflection on the practice of remedial teaching was relevant in the development of child science.     

Scallywags – an evaluation of a service targeting conduct disorders at school and at home

Conduct disorder (CD) is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders. Some research has focused on reducing conduct difficulties through parent training programmes. However, there has been limited research focusing on early intervention services that deal with emotional and/or conduct problems in a community setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the Scallywags service, a multi‐component, early intervention scheme, offering support in the educational and home setting. A total of 411 children, aged 3 to 7 years, was included in this study. Two behaviour inventories were used as the outcome measures. Parents and teachers completed these pre, post, and six months after the intervention. Results demonstrate significant decreases in child conduct problems after the six months intervention, with this change maintained six months later. This study adds to growing research illustrating the importance of multi‐component, early intervention schemes to reduce child conduct problems.     

Education with production in Zimbabwe: an evaluation of teachers’ and pupils’ attitudes and perceptions

The terms community development and lifelong learning have been in use for several decades and refer to different areas within the field of adult education. This paper sets out to explore the relationship between these two concepts. It examines the ways in which community development work contributes to the development of an overall system of lifelong education. Recent writing on the idea of the learning society points towards a more holistic view of education, which acknowledges learning in all its forms and venues and which values the many and varied ways in which people learn. The nature of this rapidly changing society demands that individuals and communities take up this challenge, so that they can play their part in shaping the future. This paper is based on research which was carried out in the early 1990s, under the auspices of the Community Research and Development Centre, by one of the authors (RM) as part of a DPhil study. It was constructed with a view to exploring the need for a more holistic, integrated approach to meeting the educational needs of those involved in adult education, community development and community regeneration in Belfast. The research set out to investigate the relationship between the various forms of learning, through an examination of organizations engaged in providing formal, non‐formal and informal adult learning opportunities in Belfast. The results confirm that traditional providers of adult education no longer hold a monopoly over learning and that there is an emerging sector of community and voluntary organizations engaged in providing learning opportunities for adults in their communities. There is some indication that whilst the relationship between traditional and non‐traditional providers is complex, the opportunities for learning which they offer are complementary. The voluntary and community sector emphasizes issue‐based and action‐oriented learning within a democratic, participative culture. Non‐formal providers often seek to support such groups, by providing more structured learning situations. Their programmes frequently offer an alternative adult education to that of the formal providers, who are more concerned with traditional ‘liberal adult education’. Whilst formal providers may try to be more community‐based, they are severely confined by their bureaucratic, hierarchic structure. Informal providers, however, also offer opportunities for more formal adult learning opportunities, through links with formal providers. The existence of this network suggests the basis for a system of lifelong education, which incorporates the range of adult learning opportunities.     

Callous–unemotional (CU) traits in adolescent boys and response to teacher reward and discipline strategies

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between callous–unemotional (CU) traits and response to rewards and discipline in adolescent boys using a mixed-methods approach. Participants comprised 39 boys aged between 12 and 13 years and 8 teachers. Quantitative findings showed that CU traits were significantly related to punishment insensitivity, controlling for conduct problems, autism symptoms and hyperactivity. In contrast, there was no significant association between CU traits and reward sensitivity. Qualitative analysis indicated that teachers view children high in CU traits as responsive to fewer reward and discipline strategies, and strategies need to be implemented and monitored with care to avoid unintended, undesirable outcomes. However, time out, praise, support from other staff and maintaining a positive teacher–child relationship were identified as effective strategies. Findings emphasise the need to carefully select, modify and implement existing evidence-based classroom behaviour-management strategies with high-CU children.     

Behavior problems of children in foster care: Associations with foster mothers’ representations,commitment, and the quality of mother–child interaction

This study investigated different environmental and contextual factors associated with maltreated children's adjustment in foster care. Participants included 83 children (52 boys), ages 1–7 years, and their foster caregivers. Quality of interaction with the foster caregiver was assessed from direct observation of a free-play situation; foster caregiver attachment state of mind and commitment toward the child were assessed using two interviews; disruptive behavior symptoms were reported by foster caregivers. Results showed that quality of interaction between foster caregivers and children were associated with behavior problems, such that higher-quality interactions were related to fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. Foster caregivers’ state of mind and commitment were interrelated but not directly associated with behavior problems of foster children. Type of placement moderated the association between foster caregiver commitment and foster child behavior problems. Whereas greater foster caregiver commitment was associated with higher levels of adjustment for children in foster families (kin and non-kin), this was not the case in foster-to-adopt families. Finally, the associations between foster child behavior problems and history of maltreatment and placement related-risk conditions fell below significance after considering child age and quality of interaction with the foster caregiver. Findings underscore the crucial contribution of the foster caregiver–child relationship to fostering child adjustment and, thereby, have important implications for clinical services offered to this population.     

Malaysian and Australian children’s representations and explanations of numeracy problems

Two developments have contributed to the convergence of views about the benefits of real-life and inquiry-based pedagogies in mathematics learning. First, the mathematics teaching community is increasingly focused on the learning of mathematics that involves the transfer of prior knowledge to novel problem-solving situations, a key element in recent characterizations of the notion of Numeracy. Second, research about human cognition in domain-specific learning suggests that problem-solving activity provides better contexts in which to observe the construction of creative connections of disparate information. The question is how can we examine the above cognitive processes, as these are played out in Numeracy contexts? (Tan, Educ Res Policy Pract 6:101–114, 2007) identified dialogue and inquiry as important themes of the psychology that girds problem-based learning. In this report, we take up Tan’s suggestion that research needs to make learner’s cognition more visible by immersing a cohort of Malaysian and Australian students in arithmetic word problems. Students were required to explain and justify their solutions. The frameworks of dialogue representation and schema guided our analyses that focused on students’ readings, explanations, representations and reflections about a given set of problem contexts. Results showed that both the groups experienced difficulty in representing far-transfer numeracy problems. However, Australian children tended to develop longer and more varied explanations in comparison to their Malaysian counterparts. Potential implications for classroom practices, policy-making and future research directions are explored.     

Undergraduate students’ ideas about nature and human–nature relationships: an empirical analysis of environmental worldviews

The aim of the study was to gain insight into undergraduate students’ environmental worldviews by exploring their ideas about nature and human–nature relationships. Participants were 29 students from a university in Taiwan. Interviews were employed as the dominant method, while a questionnaire survey was also used to support the sample selection and enhance the understanding of the interview data. Interview responses were analyzed using a phenomenographic approach and revealed a variation of students’ ideas. One key finding was that although the students were generally pro-ecological, their ideas about nature and human–nature relationships seemed to be often a mixture of worldview tendencies typically as follows: (1) humankind is part of nature and subject to natural laws, and thus cannot possibly destroy nature; (2) humankind plays a dominator role in nature, but can be ‘replaced’ by other species; and (3) humankind should take responsibility for nature in order to secure sufficient natural resources and a livable environment for all species, especially humans. Moreover, the students described and explained nature predominantly from a scientific perspective. The educational implications of the findings and limitations of the study are also discussed.     

Parenting and children’s adjustment problems: the mediating role of self-esteem and peer relations

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of parental and personal characteristics on children’s internalizing/externalizing problems. Further, this study aimed to examine personal characteristics (self-esteem, peer relations) as mediators in the relation between parenting and internalizing/externalizing problems. In order to address these questions, this study used a cross-sectional design. The sample included 588 pre-adolescents and adolescents (10–14 years old) and their mothers. Children completed the My Memories of Upbringing Questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (child report), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Friendship Quality Questionnaire, and the Harter’s Self Perception Profile (Social acceptance subscale), while mothers completed The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (parent report). Results support a model for the influence of both direct and indirect effects on children’s internalizing/externalizing problems.     

Motor coordination difficulties in 5–6‐year‐old children with severe behavioural and emotional problems

Incidence, severity and types of motor difficulties in children with severe behavioural and emotional problems were evaluated. A group of 6‐year‐olds (n = 29) with such problems and controls (n = 29) were compared on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M‐ABC). The groups were compared on total scores as well as manual dexterity, ball skills and balance. Individual M‐ABC profiles were compared with Teacher's Report Form profiles. It was found that 62.1% in the high‐risk group and 20.7% in the control group showed motor coordination difficulties. In the high‐risk group 55.2% fulfilled the criteria of the DSM‐IV for developmental coordination disorder, compared to 3.4% controls. The high‐risk group showed significant difficulties within all sub‐areas of the M‐ABC. There was a significant relationship between attention problems and manual dexterity difficulties. The combination of problems identified makes these children vulnerable with regard to school inclusion and in need of proper assessment and intervention.     

The art of teaching children the arts: music,dance and poetry with children aged 2–8 years old

In this article, the theoretical framework of developmental pedagogy is presented as a tool in studying and developing children’s knowing within the arts. The domains of art focused on are music, poetry and dance/aesthetic movement. Through empirical examples from a large‐scale research project, we illustrate the tools of developmental pedagogy and show how this perspective contributes to our understanding of children’s learning of music, dance and poetry. More specifically, we will analyse: (a) the important role of the teacher in children’s learning within the arts; (b) the importance of conversing when learning the arts; (c) what constitutes the knowledge, what we refer to as ‘learning objects’, to be appropriated within the three domains of art focused on; and (d) how to conceive of progression in children’s knowing within the arts.     

Self-efficacy,mathematics’ anxiety and perceived importance: an empirical study with Portuguese engineering students

The accomplishment in mathematics has gained attention from educators and arises as an emerging field of study, including in engineering education. However, in Portugal, there is still incipient research in the area; so it is high time to explore factors that might enlighten the gap in the study of the relationship between Portuguese engineering students and the learning of mathematics. The main purpose of this study is to explore three factors identified in the literature as influencing the learning of mathematical concepts – self-efficacy, anxiety towards mathematics and perceived importance of mathematics – and search for differences by gender and by type of engineering course, a dimension not much reported in the literature but which was revealed as important in the team's previous research. Based on a sample of 140 undergraduate students of different engineering courses from University of Minho, results only identify differences in the type of course and not in gender. These results constitute a contribution and open new paths for future research in the engineering education.     

Language problems in children with learning disabilities: do they interfere with maternal communication?

In this study, parent-child interaction in two carefully matched subgroups-school-age boys with learning disabilities (LD) who showed a discrepancy between their verbal IQ and performance IQ and had more extensive difficulties in higher-level language abilities (VIQ < PIQ, n = 8) and boys with LD who did not manifest a discrepancy between verbal IQ and performance IQ (VIQ = PIQ, n = 8), were investigated. The effects of the child's language problems on child task performance and on the quality of maternal communication were analyzed in a mother-child problem solving task. Children in the VIQ < PIQ group were found to be less successful on the task than children in the VIQ = PIQ group, and their mothers exhibited lower communication clarity in their instructions than the mothers of the children in the VIQ = PIQ group. An interesting interaction effect was found for communication deviances. For mothers in the VIQ < PIQ group the extent of deficient communication increased from the monologue to the dialogue situation, whereas communication deviances decreased for mothers in the VIQ = PIQ group. Three possible models are discussed in light of the differences between the subgroups.     

Students’ academic performance and various cognitive processes of learning: an integrative framework and empirical analysis

The main aim of this study is to test a conceptualised framework that involved the integration of achievement goals, self‐efficacy and self‐esteem beliefs, and study‐processing strategies. Two hundred and ninety (178 females, 112 males) first‐year university students were administered a number of Likert‐scale inventories in tutorial classes. Data were analysed through structural equation modelling procedures. The results provided support, in part, for the hypothesised relationships; for example, both self‐efficacy and self‐esteem exerted positive effects on deep processing, and academic performance was influenced positively by mastery goals and deep processing. Similarly, surface processing exerted a negative effect on academic performance. One key finding was the positive effect that self‐esteem exerted on self‐efficacy. Finally, a one‐way MANOVA indicated statistically significant differences between men and women in their self‐esteem; women reported higher self‐esteem than men. This study provides support for the amalgamation of key motivational and learning theories and accentuates the importance of achievement goals, self‐efficacy and study‐processing strategies as possible mediators of students’ academic performance.     

Financing constraints and corporate investment:an empirical analysis of china’s manufacturing firms

1 Introduction 1 As the manifestation of corporate investment decision, corporate investment behavior has been the focus of scholars and practitioners’ discussion. At present, empirical studies about corporate investment mainly focus on two broad issues. One of the two issues is the relationship between financing constraints and investment-cash flow sensitivity in incomplete market. For example, Fazzari, Hubbard and Petersen [1] found that there is significantly positive relationship betwee…     

New Beginnings: evaluation of a short social–emotional intervention for primary‐aged children

We report on an effectiveness trial of ‘New Beginnings’, a short social–emotional intervention for primary‐aged children. The sample comprised 253 children (aged 6–11) attending 37 primary schools across England. Data on social and emotional competence and mental health difficulties were collected using child self‐report, and parent‐ and teacher‐informant report questionnaires in a pre‐test–post‐test control group design. One hundred and fifty‐nine children took part in the intervention, and 94 children acted as a comparison group. Children in the intervention group attended weekly 45‐minute small group sessions for seven weeks. Child self‐report data indicated that the intervention was successful in promoting social and emotional competence, and that improvements were sustained at seven‐week follow‐up. However, this finding was not replicated in either the teacher or parental data. We conclude that future iterations of the intervention may need to be more intensive and lengthy in order to produce changes in behaviour that are salient to teachers and parents.     

Measuring children’s perceived cost of school science: Instrument development and psychometric evaluation

This investigation addresses the need for valid and reliable instruments that contribute to understanding the factors that lead to the rejection of science-related studies. We discuss the theoretical and methodological limitations of published attitudes toward science questionnaires and describe the development and validation of a short instrument rooted in the cost construct of the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation. We collected data from a sample of six hundred thirty-two 5^th and 6^th (M_age = 10.87; SD = .76) elementary students in Spain. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a parsimonious structure measuring loss of valued alternatives and task effort ​cost. Further psychometric evaluation displayed evidence for convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Likewise, the reliability was acceptable for both three-item scales. These findings support the proposed instrument to measure barriers experienced by Spanish children when studying school science.     

Measuring graduate students’ global competence: Instrument development and an empirical study with a Chinese sample

In globalization, global competence (GC) is a crucial competence for graduate students to possess; thus, graduate education should prepare students with GC to compete globally. However, no instrument has been designed to measure graduate students' GC, and the theoretical structure of GC has not been empirically examined. To fill these gaps, first, we developed the Global Competence Scale for graduate students (GCSG) based on a three-dimensional theoretical framework (knowledge, skills, and attitudes). Second, we administered the GCSG to Chinese graduate students sampled from five universities in Beijing. Third, we examined the theoretical framework, and examined the reliability and validity of the scale. Finally, we described the Chinese graduate student sample’s GC by using the instrument. The results supported the theoretical model and provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the instrument. We also found that the sample showed higher ratings in knowledge and attitudes but lower ratings in communication skills.     

“Hispanic” children: Theoretical,empirical, and related policy issues

Not only are school-age ethnic and racial minority children one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population, they are also one of the most vulnerable. Hispanic children in particular are representative of the at-risk status of minority populations, displaying a portrait of unrealized social, educational, and employment success. This paper addresses the background and history of U.S. social and educational policies as they relate to the Hispanic student. Recent empirical findings are presented which support the following: (a) the bilingual character of Hispanic children is not a linguistic, cognitive, or educational liability and, in fact, should be employed to promote academic achievement; (b) the culture of the Hispanic family and child are better understood with regard to socialization variables and the potential differences they produce when directly compared to Anglo culture; and (c) educational strategies for Hispanic students that respect and integrate students' social, psychological, and linguistic attributes serve students effectively.     

Work–family relations among mothers of children with learning disorders

The study examined conflict and facilitation in work–family relations among working mothers of children with learning disorders (LD) or with typical development. The study also focused on three maternal personal resources (maternal anxious/avoidant attachment security, affect and sense of coherence) as antecedents of these work–family relations, and examined outcomes of such conflict and facilitation between the two life domains, as they affected patterns of close relationships within the family (child attachment and family cohesion). The sample included 96 mother–child dyads: 48 mothers and their children with LD; and 48 mothers and their typically developing children. Children’s ages were 8–12 years. All attended public elementary schools in urban areas of central Israel. Significant group differences emerged on mothers’ family to work conflict and on mothers’ work to family facilitation. Findings indicated that several maternal personal resources were antecedents of these relations and also contributed to differences in mother–child attachment relationships and family cohesion. Discussion focused on understanding work–family relations among these mothers of children with LD, as well as the influence of maternal personal resources on patterns of close relationships (i.e., child attachment, family cohesion).